Spanish grammar · interactive
Al vs Del Contractions Practice
Spanish has exactly two contractions — and they’re mandatory. Drill a + el → al and de + el → del with instant feedback.
These exercises settle al vs del for good: Spanish’s only two contractions, both mandatory, both built on the article el. Choose the right form in real sentences — including the cases where the contraction is forbidden — and get the reasoning with every answer.
The short version: a + el always fuses to al (voy al cine) and de + el always fuses to del (vengo del mercado). They never happen with la, los or las, never with the pronoun él, and not in writing when El is part of a proper name like El Salvador.
Try the al vs del exercise
Contract — or don’t. Choose the form that’s actually correct.
Vamos cine esta noche.
We’re going to the movies tonight.
How it works
- 1
Read the sentence
A real Spanish sentence appears with the a/de + article slot blanked out.
- 2
Contract — or don’t
Pick al, del, or the uncontracted form when the rule says hands off. Instant feedback.
- 3
Learn the why
Each answer states which rule fired: mandatory fusion, feminine article, pronoun él, or proper name.
What you’ll learn
- The two mandatory contractions: a + el → al, de + el → del
- Why la, los and las never contract (a la playa, de los niños)
- The él exception: ‘es de él,’ never ‘es del’ for the pronoun
- Proper names that keep El: de El Salvador, a El Cairo
Two contractions, zero choice
English contractions are optional — you can write ‘do not’ instead of ‘don’t.’ Spanish’s two contractions are not: whenever the preposition a or de lands directly in front of the article el, the fusion happens, in speech and in writing. ‘Voy a el cine’ isn’t formal Spanish; it’s wrong Spanish. That makes al and del easy in one way — there’s never a stylistic decision to make.
They also show up far more often than learners expect, because de + el covers possession (‘el coche del profesor’), origin (‘vengo del mercado’), and material or topic (‘una clase del subjuntivo’), while a + el covers direction (‘voy al banco’) and the personal a before masculine nouns (‘vi al médico’). Master these two words and a surprising amount of everyday Spanish smooths out.
When the fusion is forbidden
The contraction is triggered by one exact word: the article el. The feminine and plural articles never contract — a la playa, de la oficina, a los niños, de las ventanas. Neither does the pronoun él (‘him’, with the accent): ‘el regalo es de él,’ ‘se lo di a él.’ If the word means a person rather than introducing a noun, keep the two words apart.
The subtler case is proper names that include El as part of the name: El Salvador, El Cairo, El Escorial. In careful writing the contraction is suppressed — ‘viene de El Salvador,’ ‘viajamos a El Cairo’ — because you can’t fuse into the middle of a name. (Newspapers with El in their titles, like El País, follow the same convention.) In fast speech it may sound contracted, but the written standard keeps El intact.
Quick reference
| Combination | What happens |
|---|---|
| a + el | always contracts → al (voy al cine) |
| de + el | always contracts → del (vengo del mercado) |
| a / de + la, los, las | never contracts (a la playa, de los niños) |
| a / de + él (pronoun) | never contracts (es de él, se lo di a él) |
| a / de + El in proper names | no contraction in writing (de El Salvador) |
Frequently asked questions
When do I use al instead of a el?
Always — whenever the preposition a comes directly before the article el, it must contract to al: ‘voy al cine.’ Writing ‘a el cine’ is a spelling error, not a formal variant.
Is ‘del’ a word in Spanish?
Yes — del is the mandatory contraction of de + el: ‘el libro del profesor.’ Along with al, it’s one of only two contractions in Spanish.
Do al and del work with la, los and las?
No. Only the masculine singular article el contracts. With every other article the words stay separate: a la playa, de la casa, a los chicos, de las flores.
Do you say ‘del Salvador’ or ‘de El Salvador’?
‘De El Salvador.’ When El is part of a proper name (El Salvador, El Cairo), the contraction isn’t written — the article belongs to the name, so it stays whole.
Make al and del automatic
Two words, four exceptions, endless everyday use. HablaCore drills al and del in real AI-generated sentences with instant feedback, so the contraction fires without you thinking about it.
Practice al vs del in real sentences